On Wine: Producers relying on sweetness to please palates contribute to dearth of truly dry wines

Lately, we’ve been thinking a lot about the issue of sweetness in what are supposedly dry wines. For decades, wine professionals have acknowledged that many consumers like to “talk dry” but “drink sweet.” But now wine producers themselves are “talking dry” and yet “producing sweet.” And it is not just mass-market wines for the less sophisticated wine drinker. It is also mid-priced wines and even elite wines.

The whole frame of reference for sweetness in wines has shifted.